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January has historically been my slowest and lowest-earning month as a freelancer. Every year I tell myself not to panic, and I stress that I won't find any projects (hello imposter syndrome)
Freelancing always has a way of reminding you that things can change fast.
This January ended up being my busiest yet, which feels extra exciting because it has never started that way.
Some wins I'm grateful for:
🎉 My highest earning January in my 3 years of freelancing
🎉 A past client I parted ways with reached out to work together again
🎉 I raised my rates with an existing client and they approved
🎉 I visited Contra HQ in person in NYC (!!)
Sharing this in case your year hasn't exploded with momentum yet. Progress doesn't always show up when we expect or want it to, but that doesn't mean it won't!
COOOOL that's awesome visiting the hq in person😊🙌
This is so inspiring, Julia! SO jealous about getting to visit ContraHQ. I'd kill for some Contra swag 😍
If you're ever in NYC, you should definitely make a pit-stop!
Thank you! And to you!!
Amazing 🙌🙌Huge congrats — especially on raising your rates and having it approved 👏
Thanks so much Anna!
Awesome!!
that's amazing congrats Julia!
Thank you Monserrat!!
Sounds like a wonderful month to me!! that it was better than previous years
Nothing like starting the year off strong. Hope you had a great January Daniel!!
Love this so much. Such a real reminder that freelancing has seasons and momentum can flip fast. Big congrats on the wins, especially raising rates and getting a past client back.
So nice to meet you 🤗
Love this for you Julia! Congrats on such an amazing month🥳
Thank you Serena!! 💛
That’s amazing, congrats! This January has been my best month in six years of freelancing, and now my brain is like, “Cool, but what if I’ve just jinxed the entire quarter?” 😂
Ah congrats!! Hahah that's so fair, BUT what if it's just setting the tone for the rest of the quarter instead?! 👀
So much grateful for this post
The network for creativity
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I didn't start freelancing to make money. I started to get better.
That's the honest truth behind 24Seven Design.
No team. No safety net.
Just me, my craft, and every project pushing me further than the last.
When you're solo, every problem is yours to solve.
Every pixel is yours to own.
Every mistake is yours to learn from.
That's lonely. I won't sugarcoat it.
Some days it's just you, your screen, and silence.
No watercooler talk. No team wins.
But that's exactly where growth lives.
In the reps nobody sees.
I'm not building an agency.
I'm building myself.
The money follows the craft.
Not the other way around.
top class work 🔝
Today I'm working on my client journey from start to finish.
Over the years I've collected loads of information, free master classes and now I'm trying to see where I can improve and simplify.
Mapping it out onto Figma FigJam, really helps my brain!
How does everyone else do this? Any tips? 😊
I’d map it in big chunky stages first:
Found me → got interested → bought → onboarding → working together → wrap-up → stays in my world
Then for each stage, ask:
What does the client need here?
Where might they get confused or overthink?
What am I already giving them?
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